Improvement in corsets



G. L. DU LANE'Y.

CORSET. No.` 193,491. Patented Ju1y24,1877.

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T/Wlnesses.

N.PETERS. PiiOTD-LITHOGRAPHER. WASHINGTON. C.

UNITE.

GEORGE L. DU LANEY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN CORSET-S.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 93,499., dated July 24, 1877; application filed July 5, 1877.

To all 'whom it may concern Be it known that I, GEORGE L. DU LANEY, of New York, in vthe county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new' and useful Improvements in Corsets; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it, appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

Corsets have been made of various animal and vegetable materials, such as cotton, silk, linen, pasteboard, and parchment or imitation parchment ;l but the ordinary textile goods, if strong enough to be otherwise suitable for the purpose, are usually too close in texture, and too impervious to air to be comfortable for summer, and they confine the sensible and insensible perspiration, to the injury of health; besides, they require to be supplied with numbers of whalebones or stays to keep them to shape.

In order to avoid some of these objections, it has been attempted to make them of a more rigid material, adapted to be. molded into a predetermined shape-as, for instance, thick artificialv board or parchment-and then introducing a series of large eyelets into this material by way of affording some ventilation; but some of the objections to this inode of construction are, that they are too clumsy and too'stiff; that they do not afford sufficient ventilation, for, if the holes be many or close enough together for this purpose, the structure becomes so weakened as to soon become broken and useless; and the material itself, under the action of animal heat, soon becomes offensive to the smell and to the touch, and hence unendurable.

It has also been attempted to make a corset of a woven fibrous material, with a line wire here and there, introduced into the fabric longitudinally only; but such material isnot capable either of ai'ording the, proper ventilation for a summer corset with sufficient strength and firmness, nor is it, of itself', capable of receiving or retaining a permanent shape fashioned to the female bust, Waist, and hips.

For certain special purposes relating to the chest, such as a breast-protector or a breastpad for ladies, or a shirt-bosom expander for men, wire-gauze of small size, and in a limited form has been used; but never, I believe,

until my present invention, has this material been employed to form a seamless corset,

lshaped or fashioned to fit the female form,

and secured and retained in such form by means of a thin metallic frame or binding,hav ging sucient yield or exibility to give to the movements of' the body, and sufficiently i rigid to preserve the fashioned shape. and 1 contour of the corset in its integrity, possessing at the same time great strength and durability.

In such a corset my invention consists;l and I will now proceed to describe the same.

In the drawings, Figure l. shows a corset complete for summer wear, made in accordance with my invention, the central stripoi` metal being partly broken away, and the lower left-hand corner being shown as covered with a felt or textile covering by way of illustrating how the corset may be covered for winter wear. Fig. 2 is a back view ofthe same, with the straps applied thereto in the position they would assume on the person, the felt or cloth being omitted. Fig. 3 represents the back-piece and the positions of the straps for connecting it to the front corset when both are used together. v Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view, showing how the edge of the wire-gauze is clamped between the folds of the metallic binding; and Figs. 5 and 6, edge views reduced,

showing the corset and its back-piece connected together, in one by the straps and in the other by lacing.

I take a piece of Wire-cloth, preferably of a good line quality, and cut from it a piece of proper shape and size to form the body of a corset' adapted to lit the front of a female chest, and to receive all the requisite curves and undulations. l next. press this sheet between shaping-dies to give it the proper shape and set, and then, while, it is stlll held or clamped between the dies or formers, I secure to the raw edge of the wire-gauze,

which protrudes from between the dies, a thin metallic binding, A, preferably in the following manner, to wit: This thin strip of metallic binding, having been previously prepared by folding its two edges near together longitudinally, is placed over the edge of the wirecloth, and then pressed or rolled between the faces of corresponding corrugated compressing-dies, which action causes a corresponding lock crease or corrugation to be formed both in the metallic band and in the wire-gauze, thus effectually and securely locking the edge of the wire-gauze between the folds of the metallic binding, and holding the same in proper position without the aid or instrumentality of other devices or agencies. This not only hides and buries the raw edge against exposure, and also against all risk of cutting or scratching the person or clothing of the wearer, but also, by reason of the double edge and corrugations of the binding, gives great strength to it, while at the same time permitting all the flexibility needed to adapt it to the person or to the movements of the wearer.

The back-piece of the corset, when used as a corset, chest, and lung protector or shoulder-brace, is also constructed of a single sheet of wire-gauze and a metal, in the same manner as the front, the only difference being that its shape is varied to adapt it to the back of the person.

For summer wear this back-piece is not used, the corset being held and applied to the person by means of a set of appropriate straps, C, and hooks orbuckles d, by which the same may be readily fastened to the wearers body, such straps being located and disposed as may be desired.

A central vertical strip of metal may be applied to the frame, as shown,the same serving as a stay and brace, and performing also, practically, the same duty as the old-fashioned removable corset-board. y

It will be seen from the above description that each section, whether the front or back one, is composed of a seamless piece of nonperishable open-mesh material, the meshes or open parts of which, between the wires composing the same, are or may b'e in excess of the solid or wire part; that this allows thorough and equal ventilation at every portion of the surface, and for all parts of the person covered by the corset 5 that the manner of constructing the frame permits the use of very fine and correspondingly light material for such frame, so that the whole corset may in Weight be but little, if any, heavier than those now in use; that there is no doubled or tubular part of the wire-cloth to receive bones or rods as stieners, that there is no need of gores or piecing, as the ultimate form, complete with all the needful swells and depressions, being first imparted by the forming-dies, and then secured to such predetermined shape by the continuous non-stretchable, but yet sufficiently yielding, binding, is permanently retained by means of such binding; that there is no hammering out or atteningof the wires to impart the shape, and therefore no consequent Weakenin g of the same where the swells occur, and no disturbance or destruction of the round form or molecular condition of the wire threads, or roughening of the same, causing it toscratch or irritate the garments or the person where the esh is tender and sensitive.

It will be evident that, with my improved metal frame described, flexible, openmesh material other than wire may be employed therewith for the body of the corset, provided it have sufficient stiffness to preserve the molded or fashioned shape which shall be imparted to it by the forming-dies.

For Winter wear, or for a protector for weak lungs or chest, a sheet of felt or similar material may be used to cover the front (or the front and back) of the corset, this felt being secured to the frame, so as to be removable at pleasure. Felt is preferable, because it is more readily formed than other fabrics to any shape desired by dies or stretching.

Thecorset for the back is an excellent shoulder-brace for preserving or securing an erect position of the shoulders.

lclaimy Y g N 1. The flexible metallic corset-frame described, doubled continuously With its edges inward, and adapted to receive and retain within such double portion the edge of afashioned corset.

2. A fashioned corset having the requisite contour for chest, bust, and hips, the body of either the front or back of which is composed of a single piece of metallic wire-cloth, molded or clamped upon shaping formers into its ultimate permanent form, and held to such form by a metallic binding.

3. In combination with afashioned corset made of a single piece of wire-cloth or other suitable flexible material, a metallic flexible binding surrounding the same, and which, while protecting the edge of the fabric, insures the retention of the corset in its fashioned shape.

4. In combination, a wire-cloth fashioned corset, bound with a iexible metallic binding, and a Wire-cloth back-piece, similarly bound.

5. In combination with a shaped corset made of wire-cloth, and having a flexible sheetmetal binding or frame, a felt or textile material adapted to cover the same as a protection for the lungs and chest.

GEO. L. DU LANEY.

Witnesses A. GRo'rEcLoss, J As. FULLER. 

